The Public Prosecutor’s Office asked the courts to begin proceedings to invalidate 144 forged diplomas linked to Paraguayan teachers. The measure, requested from the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC) and the National Council of Higher Education (Cones), would clear the way for the cancellation of professional registrations issued on the basis of those documents.
Prosecutor Teresa Sosa Laconich said the investigation now covers 525 suspected diplomas and study certificates. The 144 cases in the first stage were deemed demonstrably irregular after the educational institutions themselves reported that they had not issued the diplomas. The Autonomous University of Asunción (UAA) is among the institutions whose name and letterhead were allegedly used without authorization.
For the documents to cease having legal effect, the universities involved will have to file declaratory actions in civil court, with support from Cones. After a court ruling, the diplomas must be removed from public records. Prosecutors aim to complete this process by the end of the school year, allowing the MEC to assess the suspension or cancellation of the registrations and open administrative proceedings against professionals currently working.
The case involves different situations. Some people allegedly bought diplomas without attending classes, while others completed the training but were deceived by unauthorized institutes that claimed to have agreements with universities. Sosa said that people who used the document without knowing it was forged might not face criminal liability because deliberate intent would be lacking. That assessment, however, will be made on an individual basis.
The documents under investigation are concentrated mainly in the departments of San Pedro, Caaguazú and Alto Paraná. The inquiry separates records issued before and after 2012, when procedures became digital. According to prosecutors, in cases after that date, access to the system depended on the credentials of MEC employees, which also directs the investigation toward possible individuals responsible within the public administration.
Prosecutors are examining three groups: the beneficiaries of the diplomas, the directors or people responsible for the higher-education institutes, and MEC employees who may have allowed the registrations. The crimes under investigation could carry prison sentences of six months to five years; when multiple offenses are combined, the sentence could reach seven years.
Using a forged diploma to receive a bonus in public service could add another consequence to the case, Sosa said. In her view, receiving money to which a person would not have been entitled could constitute an additional aspect of the crime against the authenticity of documents. The invalidation of the diplomas and cancellation of the registrations could move forward before the criminal proceedings are concluded.